There is an ever increasing need for various forms of energy. One specific area of increasing need relates to alternative fuels, such as ethanol. While ethanol can currently be generated on a large scale today, there is a need for ways to manufacture ethanol more efficiently, and cheaply.
Since 1987, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has sponsored more than 40 different colleges and high schools in Advanced Vehicle Technology competitions. These competitions are sponsored through Argonne National Laboratory which organizes and operates these competitions to accelerate the development and demonstration of technologies of interest to DOE and the automotive industry. FFV's (Flexible Fuel Vehicles), factory ready to use E-85 fuel which is 85% ethanol are now widely available. As of mid 2005 there have been over 2 million FFV's sold in the U.S. alone. Although still small, this indicates a substantial and increasing demand for ethanol.
A fuel cell is a device that can obtain 40 to 50% efficiency in conversion of a fuel into useable power (as opposed to approximately 18% efficiency for the average internal combustion engine). Some fuel cells use specialized molecular sieves made of complex polymers with anode/cathode properties, and others use expensive platinum catalysts. One of the main problems with any fuel cell is contamination of the membrane. It is a great advantage to use a fuel source which has been fully distilled; therefore, an ideal fuel for a fuel cell is ethanol. The use of fuel cell technology is also expanding. Regardless of which technology eventually dominates the automotive industry, the need for ethanol is expected to increase.
There has been a long existing need for the large-scale manufacture of fuel, fuel stock or fuel additives, and this need is or will continue to increase as the demand for energy increases, and the supply of conventional energy decreases.